Okatie cleanup could start with wetland backup

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Proposed project would detain stormwater runoff

A “pilot” program to begin cleaning up the Okatie River could start this summer, according to Beaufort County Stormwater Manager Dan Ahern.

“A fairly unique retrofit” has been proposed by the Ward Edwards firm, which was hired by the county to survey stormwater flow in the river’s sensitive headwaters, Ahern said Wednesday.

A century-old railroad bed and primitive drainage ditch have diverted stormwater runoff from headwater wetlands, where it belongs, directly into the Okatie, he told the county Stormwater Management Utility Board.

“This is called ‘enhancing wetland function.’ We’re going to remove an existing railroad bed and an old boiler and put in a small flow-control structure to back up stormwater into a wetland -- as it probably used to do -- while allowing eventual flow into the river,” Ahern said.

Ward Edwards will submit a construction plan; costs should be minimal and accomplished “in house” by the county Public Works Department, he said.